Area parents score high on attendance

Educators say flexibility, tradition of involvement boost numbers.

Educators say flexibility, tradition of involvement boost numbers.

December 05, 2005|ERIN MILLER Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Sara Thomas knows the importance of attending parent-teacher conferences with her two daughters' teachers. "If you set that example that you don't care and aren't interested, why should they?" Thomas said after a fall conference at Emmons Elementary School. "They love anytime I can come in. They think it's great." Thomas isn't alone in making the time to attend parent-teacher conferences. School City of Mishawaka's seven elementary schools averaged 97.4 percent attendance at the fall meetings, according to information provided by school officials. Penn-Harris-Madison schools averaged 97.3 percent parent attendance, district spokeswoman Teresa Carroll said. Plymouth elementary schools reported averages between 88 percent and 95 percent attendance, and South Bend primary schools reported 95 percent attendance. Mary Tiede Wilhelmus, spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Education, said the state does not keep records of parent-teacher conference attendance. But the numbers local schools gave The Tribune seem higher than other schools across the state, she said. The high attendance numbers don't seem to surprise area educators. "We have very supportive parents," Hums Elementary School Principal Judith Welling said. "They make every effort to be here." Ninety-nine percent of parents with students at Hums attended the conferences. Welling credits the close-knit community in Mishawaka and a culture of parental involvement for bringing in so many of her students' parents. Making sure parents know the conferences are approaching helps, principals said. P-H-M officials sent out notices about the conference in school newsletters, regular letters and individual invitations from the students. Some schools also announced the dates on the school marquee. Ron Elder appreciates the district's approach to conferences. "So far, my experience, and this is only my third year, every teacher within the building has been outstanding," Elder said after a conference with his son's teacher at Horizon Elementary School. "We were able to get all our questions answered." Educators at other schools say their conference attendance is due to similar factors, plus teachers' willingness to work with parents to pick a convenient meeting time. "Our teachers don't just meet those two evenings or afternoons," said Melody Kruger, principal of Menominee Elementary School in Plymouth. "They are so flexible. They'll meet the week before, the week after. They want to meet with that parent." Menominee's notices about the upcoming conferences are written in English and Spanish, helping school officials spread the word to all parents. Parents who can't make the trip into the school aren't excused from getting the twice-yearly progress reports. Teachers call absent parents, conducting the conference over the phone. At Tarkington Traditional School in South Bend, parents sign a contract in which they pledge to become involved in their child's education, district spokeswoman Judy Tovey said. All of Tarkington's parents attended the most recent conferences; the district school reporting the lowest numbers had 93 percent attendance. Administrators at John Young Middle School in Mishawaka found another way to bring parents into the school for conferences. No longer do parents visit just the teachers; students participate, too. The switch came about six years ago, just before Principal Dan Towner started at the school. About 95 percent of parents attend the conferences, Towner said. Dennis and Katherine Perry, and their 14-year-old daughter, Emily, like the set-up, which differs from the traditional conference setting. "The story we get back home is not necessarily what's going on here," Dennis Perry said after Emily's recent conference. The couple has always made time for parent-teacher conferences -- Katherine Perry says she has perfect attendance -- because they like the relationships that are built and strengthened through the face-to-face contact. "When you know someone, you're more likely to help them out," she said. Emily doesn't mind taking the lead at the meetings. She comes "to get better relationships with the teachers" and to claim her reward for a good report card: a trip to Dairy Queen.Staff writer Erin Miller: emiller@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6553